Following the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, military veterans express mixed emotions outside the Veteran Affairs Administration Building in Los Angeles.
Shinseki's resignation came amid uproar over widespread delays in medical care for veterans.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SCOTT SINGER, U.S. MILITARY VETERAN, SAYING:
"It's a huge problem, you know, it's ridiculous, you know, a lot of us in the military joke about it, like instead of going to the VA, we should be excited to go down there, 'hey, these guys really help us,' no, we all dread going down there because we know we're just going to spin our wheels and end up jumping through a bunch of hoops and cutting through a bunch of bureaucratic red tape. It just frustrates a lot of us, it's real bad."
(SOUNDBITE) (English) JEREMY NIBLETT, U.S. MILITARY VETERAN, SAYING:
"Absolutely. I think especially in the military, you'll see that the leadership is everything. The leadership will make or break, in my case, a soldier and his troop. So yes I believe the leadership is everything. With outstanding leadership if we get them in there, it will change it from the top down."
(SOUNDBITE) (English) RON BAKER, U.S. MILITARY VETERAN, SAYING:
"All in all, General Shinseki did a lot for the veterans, but I think he lost his ability to focus on the accountability of what's going on with the veterans."
Friday morning, Obama accepted Shinseki's resignation - after he said he didn't want to be a "distraction" while the VA worked to fix its problems.
Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson will head the agency - during the search for a permanent replacement.

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